


Eight Letters, One Word

by beesandjam



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Crossword Puzzles, Cuddling, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, Sleepy Cuddles, fluffyflufffluff, mrs h's shipping, no plot really whatsoever, seriously all it is is fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-23
Updated: 2014-04-23
Packaged: 2018-01-09 17:04:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1148602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beesandjam/pseuds/beesandjam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once Sherlock finds some place comfy, there's no waking him. Based off of <a href="http://shortshenanigans.tumblr.com/post/61353603376/so-i-did-a-little-stress-relief-doodle-earlier">shortshenanigan's</a> johnlock doodle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I really don't know where this one came from or why. I just know that the stress of finals/midterms is over and I've had this picture as a tab on chrome for months now.

There hadn’t been a great deal of sleeping in 221B recently. At least for Sherlock there wasn’t. Their last ‘big’ case (as Sherlock referred to it—he’d deemed that one as a seven and a half) was days ago. He’d run out of experiments and ways to poison John a while back. The mind always seemed to be funny, he noticed, never really remembering anything the same way…or maybe that’s because Sherlock poisoned him some time on Sunday and he didn’t wake until midday Tuesday. He also burnt through three dinner plates, shot a hole at their microwave again, and practically threatened to hack into John’s blog once more because "Honestly it really was easy, John. Your password, although containing a series of numbers, isn’t too difficult. Sentiment. Always."

He was fumbling his way around the flat now as John scribbled at the crossword that accompanied the daily. Throughout his life with Sherlock he seemed to have acquired the assets that allowed him to put his friend on silent, just like Sherlock had Mrs. H on a semi-permanent mute. Of course John’s snubbing only lasted a few hours when Sherlock was really anxious, but he didn’t let the bushy-haired detective know that. Though, regarding that brain of his, he probably already did. There was no use ever with him.

John’s mind wandered away from his crossword because he couldn’t think of a word eight letters long with two ‘P’s in it. He considered shouting down to Mrs. Hudson to see if she had an idea, but something prevented him from thinking further on the subject.

Sherlock, with his wild curls and sickly sea green eyes, bent over the back of John’s armchair to scoff at his blogger’s activity. “A crossword, John? Really? I had more faith in you,” he muttered, sliding his way around the chair and hovering near John’s good shoulder.

John’s eyes followed him, but his head stayed put. He flashed a brief, inexpressive smile, and said, “I do this every Sunday…you must have deleted it.”

Sherlock hummed his response through pursed lips and fell over the arm of the chair. Christ, could that man forget about personal space when he was skittish or sleep deprived. In this case, sadly, it was both. John had to lift his paper and pen over his head so Sherlock could burrow against his chest. His legs were too long to match John’s, thus causing them to spiral out and perch from the ground like trees grown crooked. Once the violinist was settled, cheek flat against the nape of John’s neck—probably counting the doctor’s heartbeats—John brought his hands back down and rested his paper on Sherlock’s back. He had to admit it, even if some of his scraggily curls got in the way of the bottom of the page, Sherlock did make a decent surface for writing. And he never flinched when John scribbled down another word (he’d temporarily forgotten about the eight letter one), so the doctor was only led to assume that the action didn’t affect Sherlock in the slightest.

John didn’t really notice the slowing of breaths and the small, human noises that came with them every now and then as he worked. It was when John had only two empty boxes left that he looked at the pile of Sherlock in his arms that he noticed—the man had fallen asleep. Right then and there.

John groaned, but he couldn’t suppress a grin that violated his thin lips and stretched them back wide. This was the first time the poor man had slept in days. It would be stupid of him to ruin it and wake Sherlock.

John sat and pondered the last questions on his crossword puzzle for a few more minutes. Eventually he was just down to the one, that damned eight-lettered nightmare, and he could only sigh. What was it? How could this be so bleeding difficult?

As if for inspiration, he glanced back down to Sherlock and ran his hand through the violinist’s curls. No matter how much he protested while awake, Sherlock’s hair really was soft. Pity John wasn’t allowed to do this while the detective was conscious.

In his arms, Sherlock shifted slightly. John gave him a puzzling look. He couldn’t quite fathom why exactly Sherlock preferred his body to laze on. John was sure it couldn’t be that comfortable. He wasn't made to be slept on. Sherlock confused him—with his legs strewn off John's, one arm tucked behind John's back, and the other clenched to the arm of the chair. Even his nose was squished into the neckline of John's striped jumper.

John sighed into the dead weight and propped his chin atop a mess of Sherlock's curls

Eight letters...two 'P's...Eight letters...two 'P's.

He started mumbling it quietly as his gaze slid from Sherlock's chair ahead of him to his own and back again. If he was going to be stuck here with nothing but a pile of detective, a pen, and his daily he might as well keep himself entertained. For as long as possible, that is.

Oh, Christ. Why hadn't he'd known. It was all too simple.

John scribbled down 'opposite' just as Mrs. Hudson chirped a "Yoo-who!" and opened the door. She had a tendency to walk in at the most unexpected times. Without permission, that is. John was lucky they'd told her about their...erm...state a few months back or else she would have a heart attack at what she saw now. "Oh," she said more quietly in her grandmother tone, "Sorry, dear. Just needed to pop up and see if you had any chamomile I could borrow.”

John smiled and tossed his paper and pen on the ground with a dull thud. "Right ahead," he responded welcomingly with a motion to the kitchen, but she already knew where it was.

Mrs. Hudson wasn't very quiet with her chores. And, honestly, she never was. Sherlock's eyes opened. And other than a simple flick of the lids, he didn't move any further. John had to hold back a laugh when he felt the buzz of a chuckle humming up onto his collarbone.

"Something wrong in there?" Mrs. Hudson twittered as she finished. Before she left, while standing in the doorway, she added, "He hasn't slept in awhile, has he? Make sure he gets some rest, John. It'll do some good."

"Will do, Mrs. Hudson."

Once the flat was rid of any more landladies, Sherlock only moved his head to a more comforting position. He pushed his lips together before over pronouncing, "An hour of sleep has a more drastic effect when a prior insomnia is provoked."

John's nose twitched. "How can you possibly be scientific immediately after waking?"

"It's in my blood," Sherlock said with an exhausted slur. No matter what he thought, John could tell Sherlock still needed time to rest and he wasn't going to get it without John's supervision. The doctor’s plan to stop by the pub with Greg later would have to wait. Maybe the D.I. would be free on Friday night for some pints. At least that was what John hoped for. Unless there was a case then, in which circumstance both men would be occupied, but they both should be able—

“You must be uncomfortable," Sherlock said, his words interjecting their way slyly into John's mind.

“You’re getting sleep,” John responded calmly. He wasn’t really thinking, but his fingers found their way back into the forest growing from Sherlock’s head. If he noticed it, Sherlock didn’t mention anything. “Doesn’t matter if I’m not comfortable. You haven’t slept in days. It’s all I can ask at this point.”

Sherlock closed his eyes and buried his head in the spot between John’s shoulder and his neck. He’d always been fond of that one. “You were going out later with Jeff. Falling asleep again like this would only interrupt,” Sherlock added.

“It’s Greg, Sherlock, and that doesn’t matter anymore. We can reschedule. You, on the other hand, cannot be postponed. Sleep is a necessity and I prescribe you at least nine hours of it. Doctor’s orders.”

Sherlock sighed and stumbled his way off his personal chair made pristinely of flesh. He began his sprawling walk to the bedroom while John followed quickly behind.

“I never liked doctors as a child,” Sherlock told John once they were under the covers.

John frowned, ran his hands through Sherlock’s hair, and pressed his lips to the violinist’s forehead. “You’re not a child anymore.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John forgot to text Lestrade that he might not make it to the pub. His mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wasn't really planning on adding to this but I had the time and it seemed interesting enough. Who knows, maybe I'll get inspiration and come back to write more. It is Mycroft's turn to make an appearance next, right?  
> I'll keep it at 2/2 until something else comes up.

For John Watson and Sherlock Holmes, sleeping in the afternoon was not a rare occurrence.

Sometimes a case would leave them running around London all night, only allowing them sleep the next day, sometimes Sherlock kept them both up the whole night for this reason or that, and then sometimes it just happened—such as today.

Although it was initially Sherlock who fell asleep (on John’s lap as he finished his crossword, nonetheless), John had followed him into his bedroom and slowly drifted off into his own slumber with the detective’s curls tucked snugly under his chin.

John didn’t deny that he was tired, too. Sherlock knew that and only pressed himself closer to the detective.

It was around three o’clock in the afternoon by the time they had both drifted off. John had made earlier plans to go to the pub with Greg later that night, but because of Sherlock’s awkward sleeping habits and his inability to decline the offer he’d forgotten to text the D.I. that he might not make it in time.

•••

“Oh, hello Greg,” Mrs. Hudson chirped as she opened the door to a drained detective inspector.

“Hello, Mrs. H,” he said monotonously. He threaded his fingers through his grey hair and suppressed a sigh. It had been a long afternoon.

“The boys should be up there,” Mrs. Hudson commented, and then added, “You’re going to the pub with John tonight, aren’t you?”

Lestrade offered a small smile and nodded.

“Go right up then, dear.”

Greg took the stairs by two. Although his head was a mess and his body was nagging with a certain type of guilt, he pushed on and stepped into the flat. His eyes roamed around the disheveled room (noting that Sherlock must have been in quite the mood that week) and spotted no detective, nor doctor. “Anybody home?” he called futilely, for there was no response.

Greg took it to himself to walk into the kitchen, which too was empty. He popped open the fridge, reassured himself that everything was okay after he’d spotted the fragment of a corpse, and snatched an apple. He took a healthy bite as he tapped on Sherlock’s door.

Again, no response.

He clasped onto the door handle and pushed slightly. He was hoping Sherlock was in here, doing whatever the bloody hell he was doing, so he could figure out where John was. Instead, as he peaked his head in, he found both Sherlock and John, entangled in a mess of limbs, sleeping soundly.

Greg had to bite his tongue so as to not chuckle.

He checked his watch. A quarter to seven. He’d told John earlier that he’d be at the flat at seven thirty. He didn’t see why popping in earlier would be so bad…until now. Greg flicked on the lights and grumbled, “Wake-y, wake-y.”

Sherlock’s eyes flickered open and Greg could see the panic wash through his very bones within the instance. Lestrade had known about their relationship for quite the time now, but he had never seen them so…intimate.

John followed soon after, once Sherlock had nudged him with a loose elbow. “Oh my god,” he managed as he sat up, “Greg?”

“Rise and shine, good-looking,” he mumbled through a bite of his apple before chuckling light-heartedly to himself.

John glanced at his clock and then looked back at the D.I. “I thought you were going to come at seven thirty.”

“Yeah, well my wife ‘an I got into a bit of a fight. Needed to get out of the house. Came early.” He raised his eyebrow and then watched Sherlock as he pushed his hair out of his eyes and slipped out of bed. “Didn’t know what I was walking in on. Sorry.”

“About going to the pub tonight, I take it,” Sherlock deduced groggily as he fidgeted with a vial on his wardrobe.

Greg had learned a long time ago that with Sherlock it was just best not to ask how he’d known things. So he didn’t.

“Give me a minute to change and we’ll go,” said John, who swung his legs to the side of the bed and pushed himself off the mattress. Greg nodded and sluggishly walked out of the room.

•••

As Sherlock shrugged on his dressing gown, John fumbled in his drawers for a decent shirt to wear to the pub. He could hear Lestrade musing about in their sitting room—fiddling with the television stations, poking around Sherlock’s discarded experiments—but he couldn’t help but wonder: did Greg find what he walked in on odd?

Sure, walking in on your two best mates sleeping in bed together was not a common occurrence, but he had known about their change in relationship a while ago. Did he find it repulsive?

“There’s no point,” Sherlock said from the edge of the mattress. He was seated with his knees tucked against his chest, arms wrapped around his legs, and his chin resting atop his knees.

“Hmm?”

“Worrying over what Lestrade thinks.”

John frowned as he pulled on a burgundy cardigan and glanced around for his shoes. He wasn’t surprised Sherlock had figured out his thoughts, the detective was gentle with it. He didn’t persecute John for having them, but was trying to comfort the doctor in his own, peculiar way.

“If he really was unnerved by it he would’ve left. He’s still a bit on-edge about his wife. Like I said…no point in agonizing.” John could see Sherlock’s sleep-induced curls frizzing near his eyebrows and his normally sapphire eyes cooling to a drained grey. He couldn’t remember the last time the violinist had slept before that day. John smiled. If it took Sherlock practically passing out on top of John for him to get sleep, he was okay with it. It helped him and John couldn’t see any downsides with Sherlock being less antsy.

“Could you try and get some sleep while I’m out?” John asked quietly as he glided on his watch, “For me, at least.”

Sherlock skimmed his eyes up at John and made an ambiguous noise. Apparently not.

But, on the other hand, John knew that once he was back home, Sherlock would find comfort in his arms and would calm down enough to sleep. He didn’t need to worry with this, either.

“Go,” Sherlock mumbled from behind his pajama pants. He gazed at John with large, childlike eyes.

“I’ll be home before midnight. Hopefully.”

“I know.”

John made his way over to press his mouth to Sherlock’s temple before leaving with the detective inspector.


End file.
